1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to male and female electrical connectors with a terminal locking device and an electrical connector assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connector 150 as shown in FIG. 30 has conventionally been proposed in EP0703643A1.
The connector 150 consists of a housing body 151 which receives terminals 152 therein, a hood 153 projecting from the housing body 151, a terminal locking device 154 which is mounted on the housing body 151, and a terminal holder 155 for holding the terminals 152 which project from the terminal locking device 154. By sliding the terminal locking device 154 in a direction perpendicular to an insertion direction of terminals 152 into terminal receiving cavities 156 in the housing body 151, the terminals 152 are locked. An operating lever 157 projects forwardly from the terminal locking device 154 and is formed at the tip end with a slide surface 157a.
On advancing a mating connector (not shown) into the hood 153 of the connector 150, an inclined surface provided inside the mating connector comes into contact with the slide surface 157a. By the inclined surface pressing on the slide surface 157a, the terminal locking device 154 is slid to lock the terminals 152 in position.
A drawback to the construction as mentioned above, however, is that the inserted condition of a terminal 152 into the housing body 151 cannot be detected. As a result, there is a danger that an electrical contact failure may be caused after coupling with a mating connector.